Sunday, May 31, 2009

I am feeling the need to post something so that the last post is over...Yuck!

As I type it's around 2:15 in the afternoon. I am sitting in Gate D32 at the Detroit airport. I am sipping a vanilla latte and eating a peice of homemade coconut poundcake (made by Marie, my hostess with mostest).

It was a fantastic weekend...full of laughter, pedicures, What Not to Wear, and most of all a good chunk of time with a dear friend.

In about an hour i wil be in Chicago-both farther and closer to the place I call home.

This is one of the best parts of being away...the excitement of going back to the people i love the most.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

It is against my better judgement to write this, but in a fit of frustration regarding the condition of the vans interior, I sent the kids outside to clean my car. It was their trash, their water bottles, their crunched up snacks--not to mention their socks, shoes, papers, and clothing.

I had had enough of cleaning it all by myself.

Imagine my shock (and Dad, today is not the day I would want you to start reading my blog) when The Girl came running into the house with a panic stricken look on her face saying "I promise, I will NEVER eat in the car again! Please don't be mad."

In the time span of about two seconds I had a myriad of possibilities swimming through my head, but when she said, "The Boy found a pile of little white worms eating the crumbs on the floor!" wasn't one of them.

Then, as my mind tried to comprehend the problem at hand, she started a cry that would surely have won her an Oscar.

Being ever so compassionate, I told her we hadn't any time for hysterics. We have a matinee to get to in just over two hours and I wasn't driving in a Maggot Mobile.

They had to clean it. And quick.

So there you have it. I am mean, and the kids are outside frantically vacuuming the car and making it all clean....and bug free.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

-I'm really not looking forward to going to get my teeth cleaned today. Going to the dentist is not my fave, but it isn't the worst thing either...What I DESPISE about the dentist is the list of stuff I am certain to have to taken care of...and the cost of getting it done. That makes me need a valium.

~Got The Shred Workout in the mail on Saturday. At the risk of losing all my Shredding readers, I l-o-v-e it. I was skeptical as to the claims of a hardcore 20-minute routine, but its a really great workout. The only thing that made me want to chuck it into the trash can was the tag line on the cover: "Lose 20 pounds in 30 days".

What and Ever.

Ya'll, honestly, if I had paid any attention when I ordered it online, I probably wouldn't have bought it, because its such a lie.

Unless you have several hundred pounds to lose (and are under a physicians care), there is no HEALTHY way to loose 20 pounds in 30 days. I'm just keeping it real here...

~Speaking of choosing to remember the Truth... I was excited to see that Constance over at FindingBalance has decided to add some writers to her blog. If you haven't been over there in awhile, go check it out.

~Today I have to go to the dentist....oh wait, already said that....

~Thursday I leave for Michigan. I've never been to The Mitten, but I am so excited to go see meh and spent some time at her casa.

~The Mister is home all this week and I love it when he's home. He is actually getting his teeth cleaned today too. Isn't that romantic? A date at the dentist... Look, we take what we can get.

~Oh, for those of you with older kiddos (or are kids at heart yourself!) what are your favorite family board games?

We have Monopoly Jr, and Candyland, Scrabble, yahtzee, and a couple Cranium games (and several toddler type games), but I REALLY need to beef up our board games. Especially now that the kids are old enough to play like real people.

I get overwhelmed in the board game isle at Target, so in the words of Carpoolqueen, Help a Sister Out.

Of course, not one to pass up a good fad (not really, I'm probably the least fad-ish person on the earth) I found myself wishing my mom and dad had saved the gigantic fork and spoon they had on our dining room wall for years! I am sure they are long gone.They have always kept up with decorative changes of time.

Second, The Boy has been running a fever since Monday night. Honestly, I think he may have a touch of flu, but he's on the mend. Of course, on Monday evening when I went to take his temperature, our digital thermometer had a dead battery.

Being super concerned about knowing what his fever was reading, but not wanting to run to the drugstore for new batteries, I dug around the depths of the bathroom cupboards and pulled out an old-time, old fashioned, thermometer. Yes, yes, one of those mercury filled ones that are horrible for the environment, and take F-O-R-E-V-E-R to get a temp.

As a matter of fact, The Boy, in his sad, sick state, was not happy that he had to hold this thing under his tongue for anentire four minutes.

Oh the hardships suffered by kids these days.

I told him to buck-up. I then told him he was lucky. When I was a kid the only thermometers were the ones that were administered at the other end. And taking a temperature that way took at least two full hours.

Then, if my fever wasn't over 104.4 degrees, my mother would pat me on the head, tell me it was allergies, and send me off to school.

Of course, I had to walk there in the scorching desert heat.

Barefooted.

Through a cacti field.

Having to jump over snakes and scorpions.

All this when I was just a tender-hearted first-grader.

To which he rolled his eyes, since he was not allowed to speak...cold air might ruin the accurate temp I was trying to acquire.

Sometimes being a mom can be so twisted-ly fun.

Speaking of thermometers (and mom, I apologize in advance)...when I was about 14 or 15 years old I broke a mercury thermometer on the living floor on the house we rented on Lurlene Drive. I desperately tried to clean up the mess, but it just kept disappearing into the carpet...It's probably good we moved.

All-righty, moving on. I am so excited because our big box of school supplies is coming today and I am VERY excited! (Could I find away to say excited one more time?)Although I was totally burned out on school last week, I LOVE to look at new books and get all my lesson plans and things organized. So I really want to get this posted and get my shtuff done around here so I can be ready when the package arrives!

Oh, and I have a hairapy appointment today...I going summer-short baby! Pictures to come.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Somewhere along the lines I equated "rest" with "unproductivity"... maybe even "laziness".

Which isn't true. At all.

God created us to rest. He knew that our desire would be to overcome the things of this world, and that we would grow tired in the trying.

I often find that I burn the candle by both ends of the wick. Somehow I am always surprised when I feel overworked and over tired. Suddenly, all those things I wasn't going to sacrifice have been thrown in the fire while I was too busy to keep watch.

The Mister and I were watching a news program a couple weeks ago regarding the study of geographical locations where people live longer than average lives. The Blue Zones were where people lived to ripe old ages, not just living but being engaged in life!

One of the Blue Zones was Sardinia, an Italian Mountaintop island. What struck me as so amazing was not what they ate (cuz the good Lord knows that the last thing we need is another diet plan!), but what they did, and didn't, do:

They worked hard, and they rested.

The reporter spoke of the several hours after lunch when no market would be open, no farmer on the field. The village was on siesta.

This concept (although I heard it before) has been swirling in my head for weeks.

This world is full of awesome things that will willingly suck us dry if we let it. Rest has to be intentional. Especially for those of us who thrive on busyness.

You know how I feel about being intentional...but somehow when it comes to rest I forget...I always think I will get to it, next week, next month. Often its illness or an emotional outburst that forces me to be still.

How I desire to rest before I need it! And judging from the comments and emails I received over my last post, you do to.

So, I thought I would implement S.IESTA! time here at the La Vida house, and offer you the opportunity to join me.

Here is the gist of this summer challenge displayed in a lovely acrostic on the word Siesta, spanish for: a nap in early afternoon (especially in hot countries) .

Stop.

Intentionally

Establishing

Stillness

Takes

Action!

I've decided to take my S.IESTA! between 2:00-3:00p every weekday. I have set an alarm on my cell phone, and the kids and I drop what we are doing, go to our rooms/nest, shut the door and read (or something that requires being quiet and still). For the La Vida house, there will be no TV, or computer, or telephone, because that's what we need right now.

Other than choosing your S.IESTA! time, and committing to practice it, there is no agenda. If you decide to join the summer challenge you can choose what you need to do for rest in your life.

For example, you could do what CPQ did yesterday, or you can take a cat nap, or read an article you've been wanting to read. You could pray, or write. Whatever. As long as you remember that to rest you must Stop. (and acknowledge that) Intentionally Establishing Stillness Takes Action.

You might not have the luxury of an hour, so your S.IESTA! might be only 20-30 minutes, while you're on break at work.

Or it might be in the morning, or evening, or in that bathtub you keep meaning to get into...

(As a side note, this is different than the 20 or so minutes of devotional time I usually do in the early morning.)

Honestly, the kids and I have done this for just three days, but let me tell you what I have observed thus far:

I have gotten more accomplished. At first I was afraid that once I sat down, I wouldn't ever want to get up again, but the opposite has been true. I have worked more diligently during the day knowing I get to S.IESTA! in the afternoon. And when my hour is up, I am able to go right back to my work with a new spring in my step!

So, think about it. And then come back and let me know if your up to the challenge. Will you S.IESTA! with me this summer? And from time to time write about it on your blog* so we can see how rest is changing our day to day lives?

Come on...you know you need it.

Lovingly,

La Vida CoffeeGal

*if you don't have a blog, but want to S.IESTA!, your invited to join too!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Twitter is a fun social media platform that is kind of like blogging. Only you don't get an unlimited space to flesh out your thoughts.

You get 140 characters.

You'd be amazed at how much I can say in 140 characters.

Or maybe you'd be surprised at how much nothing I can say...

This post isn't about blogging, or Tweeting. It isn't a slam on those who do. (Cuz i love my Tweeps, oh yes i do!)

It's about my heart and mind. So here i go...

I was reading yesterday, and realized that I am restless.

I cannot think.

I cannot write.

Cannot speak for all the bits and pieces running through my head.

Trying to pray, I realized that my life has become completely fragmented.

My life is a series of jumping thoughts and sporadic conversations.

My days a chain of incomplete answers. Incomplete understanding.

Its been half a conversation here, an undeveloped idea there.

It's been forgetting what I am going to say while in the middle of a sentence. Not just in writing, but while I am actually speaking.

Its more than the unquenchable desire to say more. Its the hunger- the very need- to expand my thoughts to a greater space; To be able to finish a project, a book, a discussion.

I don't want be blind when the light shines all around me.

It occurred to me that in the feelings and emotions of such a full year (which included job changes, cross-country moves, new schooling, etc.) I have attempted to to live a full and wonderful life...in 140 characters.

There is no part of my life that isn't affected.

This fast-paced, cram-it-all-in, mentality is invading my life in places where there is no room for emptiness.

Monday, May 18, 2009

10. Feeling SUPER glad that we finished school on Friday. Whew! Just when I was getting into my groove, its over! Which brings me to...

9. Glad that all curriculum choices for next year have been figured out and purchased, to be delivered by the end of this week.

8. Glad for the new journal I just bought yesterday (Scanned copy of front above). I only have five pages in my last journal and I am going to write REAL BIG so that I can just hurry up and be done with it already.

7. Glad that summer is around the corner, as was evidenced by the sparkles of fireflies in the dusk of evening. If your from these parts, I'm talking about lightening bugs.

6. Glad school is over. Oh wait....I already said that. Glad that its that time of year when I can buy Popsicles by the cart-load. Hot chocolate is officially off the menu.

5. Glad that the kids and I finally got our garden started yesterday.

4. Glad that we have awesome neighbors, who bring over plants and presents for the kids with honest-to-goodness no string attached. They just do it cause they want to...

2. Glad for good news. The Mister received good news regarding his profession this week. Which leads me to my last and final Glatitude of the week....

1. I am glad for dental insurance (that we get through The Misters good job), because in 3-4 weeks I will be having a root canal, post, and crown on a tooth that has already HAD a root canal, post and crown. I pulled out the entire post and crown this week chewing on a piece of gum. We'll still be paying out a small fortune, but it could be much, much worse!

Friday, May 15, 2009

When the Carpoolqueen came over for lunch this week I decided my menu would be a Roasted Corn and Tomato Tart, Green Salad, and Iced Tea. For dessert we would have Snicker Doodles, because I had heard through the grapevine that she enjoys a good cookie every so often.

I promised the Whimzie, and the gals who follow me on Twitter, that I would post the recipes today. So here they are....

Oh yes, things I get myself into...or worse, that come out of my mouth.

Whim, I wish I could tell you this is the ONLY thing that I have said that rendered me clueless, but it isn't.

OK, Recipes...

Roasted Corn and Tomato Tart (Cooking light, June 2001)

Crust:

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 TBLS Yellow Cornmeal

1/4 baking powder

1/4 Kosher salt

5 TBLS water

1 1/2 TBLS Olive Oil

cooking spray

Filling:

1 1/2 fresh* corn kernels (about 3 ears)

1/2 cup 92oz) shredded smoked mozzarella cheese

3 TBLS chopped fresh basil

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 large tomato, cut into 1/4 inch-thick slices

1 TBLS grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

For Crust: Combine dry ingredients and mix; add water and oil until until well blended.

Place dough between two pieces of wax paper. Roll into 11-inch circle and place (in wax paper) into fridge for 15 minutes or until you need it (I've let it sit for up to 4 hours and it comes out great.)

Spray a tart pan (i don't have one so I just use a cookies sheet) with cooking spray and place tart in pan. Prick bottom of crust with fork.

(here the recipe calls for pre-baking the crust for 15 minutes...I just now realized this...I have never done this myself. Oops!)

To Prepare filling:

Use cooking spray in a skillet (I used a splash of olive oil) and saute corn until lightly brown and fragrant.

Sprinkle a bit of cheese on crust. Arrange tomato in circular pattern. Top with corn, and rest of cheese; Sprinkle basil, salt, pepper, and Parmesan.

Bake 15 minutes.

Yields4 servings, if you are a petite eater2 servings, if you have a hearty appetite like me.

*I have used fresh corn and it tastes WAY better, however I have also used frozen and its still yummy.

Snickerdoodles:

This recipe comes from this cookbook I received from my Aunt in 1979. It is my favorite SD recipe for its simplicity. My only complaint is that the batch is fairly small. Our family of four can go through one batch in a day or two.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Because The Mister, who is a man of great wisdom but of very few words, COMMENTED on yesterdays post!!!!

I almost fell off my chair this morning.

I love him so much.

Do y'all get tired of hearing me write that?

Too bad. It's the honest truth.

And let me tell you something funny. For as much as I talk about him and our relationship and blah, blah, blah. Our marriage is as real as yours is (if you happen to be married).

For instance, on Tuesday night, around 1am I came home from having dinner with a friend (I'll explain in detail in a second) and crawled in bed. The Mister was still somewhat awake, he had been waiting to make sure I had arrived at home (he's a worrier about my driving late at night).

Anyway, I snuggled up in bed, laid my arm over his manly shoulders and whispered into his ear, "Happy Anniversary, honey. Uh, please tell me you didn't buy me anything."

To which he sleepily answered, "Um, no, I didn't. Is that OK?"

Sometimes this is a trick.

Sometimes the subtext of his 'no', really means, I bought you a diamond watch (which I lost), or pearl earrings (also lost), or my BFF a Kitchen Aide Mixer (at 25#s, is certain to never get lost).

So I re-asked the question, Are you sure that you did not purchase anything with which you will surprise me with, and make me feel horrible tomorrow? Because I didn't buy anything- nada, zip, zero, nothing. Oh, and your "card" will be posted on the blog.

There's nothing like a blog post written for all to see that says I care to send the very best.

We really didn't get each other anything. No worry, no shame.

His comment on the blog was the perfect card or gift.

Have I mentioned how much I adore him?

All right, I'm finished. Moving on...

I had lunch with the Carpoolqueen yesterday. She is so much fun. I have been a bit sleep deprived since my trip to Texas, so I was moving very s--l--o--w. My body and mind just refused to hustle. I just kind of floated through the kitchen as if we had all day to eat our lunch.

She was gracious, and we had the nicest, leisurely, lunch...can't wait to do it again.

Speaking of friends that I love...

I got to see one of my favorite people(s?) on the planet. (That sentence is horrible, but I'm, gonna go with it.)

Cheryl and I met 12 years ago while our husbands attended graduate school. We had our first babies together, and she was instrumental to my spiritual growth when I was a young Christian.

To say I love her is an understatement, but I don't know how to say it any other way.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Today has been a great day. Filled with presents and love, and good things to eat.

It's also been filled with a great deal of thought.

I am always very reminiscent on this day. So many great things have happened on this weekend in different seasons of my life.

For instance, I had my first date with The Mister on this weekend in 1993.

Two years later we got married. Our wedding date was May 13, 1995. The day before Mothers Day.

This weekend is always full of anticipation. I remember Mothers Day 1998 like it was yesterday. The Boy was eight months old, and although I am smiling in the picture above, I was disappointed.

The Mister was in an intense Masters program where he went to school 5 days a week for 8 hours a day. He was in the middle of some intense clinicals working in a burn unit, and getting ready to graduate as one of the top in his class. His plate was more than full.

Unfortunately, he didn't know that I was expecting the royal treatment on this, my first official maternal holiday, so when he didn't wake up until 10 a.m., well, lets just say I was already fuming. It didn't matter that he had presents and plans (or that I hadn't TOLD him I would like him to get up early with me.) My expectations of the day hadn't come to fruition.

That day didn't look like I had thought it would.

It's feels funny to look back on that day.

Especially now.

Which bring me to this weekend...

When I woke up this morning my first thought was not about me. Nor was it about my mom.

In the last three months I have had two friends who have lost children.

Charity @ Considering it all Joy lost her baby in February. Today her day did not go as she had planned. Her expectations were changed on February 3rd, just two days from her due date, when her precious Alethia Joy was stillborn.

My friend Barbara lost her three-year-old daughter Leah in an accident one stormy March evening. For six weeks we prayed for a miracle. Prayed she would wake up, and walk out of the hospital. Instead, six weeks later, she flew to the arms of God.

I haven't spoken to Barb since the funeral, but I'm certain that this wasn't the Mothers Day she thought she would be having when she looked toward the future at the beginning of this year.

Although I woke up feeling pensive I didn't stay for breakfast in bed. I didn't wait in anticipation to see if the presents were going to be good. Nor did I feel slighted when I had to help organize the breakfast on the deck. I walked in that kitchen and directed the traffic, grateful for one more day to do what a mother does.

I did get some nice things. But when the breakfast was done and the presents were opened I still had a small ache in my heart. Not only for my friends, but for the way I loose sight of the privilege of being a mother.

For me, Mothers Day: May 10, 2009, will be remembered as the day when I found some perspective.

Perspective that comes with some pain.

I am grateful. I pray I never forget how I have felt on this day.

I never want to become so self focused, so me-oriented, that I forget that it is an honor to be called a mother. I never want to become so focused on unmet expectations that I forget to see the blessings standing before my eyes.

To my friends who stand in this day with a broken heart and empty arms, you wear motherhood with a beauty I cannot describe. You are teaching me how to be a better mom.. a better woman.

Friday, May 08, 2009

We had company over for dinner last night and I served one of my favorite summer recipes.I knew I had posted about this recipe before, so I searched the archives. Below is the the post I wrote two years ago when I made Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips for the first time.

I was going to write a whole new post, but it was fun to read and remember what life was about when we had just moved into the Arizona house... and had NO idea we would be living sometime very soon, back in NC (and the same NC House)! So weird.

So this may be a repeat for some of you...But for a lot of you, its new!

~~~

"The Rant, Reveal, and a Recipe" Originally posted July 21,2007

Rant: I hate Playdough. I know as a mother of school age children I should be tarred and feathered for saying those words. But it's true. I have never liked it. Before we moved I thought I had thrown all of it out. But apparently there were two unopened cans in our house when the packers packed our stuff. Yesterday The Girl found them as we unpacked the last three boxes (We're done unpacking HOORAY!!!) I n the past I have allow the kids to play with it, but only outside, and afterward they had to shake down and scrub up. These days I can't send them outside because it is blazing hot the minute the sun comes up.

Why don't I like Play-do? I don't like how it smells. I don't like how it crumbles, even when fresh, and gets all over. So I have pretty much banned it from the house.

I know. I know I'm mean. That's what I get paid the big bucks for.

Reveal: I am totally loving my new kitchen counters. They are so roomy I could do just about anything on them (get your head out of the gutter! I'm only talking laundry). In this house I no longer have the luxury of an extra room to dump laundry in. Gone are the days of unloading the dryer to the guest bed, shutting the door, and not going back until the troops started to complain that they didn't know where their laundry had gone. Now I bring the clean laundry to my counter top and fold it up. This way, laundry must be dealt with immediately, which may or may not make my laundry woes easier. The good news is that for now, it is all done. (Picture below)

Recipe: Y'all I have a new online addiction,allrecipes.com . I love the feature that allows you to type in the ingredients you have on hand and it will pull up recipes with those items in it.

Last night I found the best recipe for one of my all time favorite kitchen staples (after coffee of course): The Tortilla.

You can see the recipe here. I tweaked it a bit. I used grapes instead of kiwi, and I only added 1 Tbls. Brown sugar to the fruit, instead of all the other stuff because I didn't want it too sweet. I took flour tortillas, cut them into wedges, sprayed them generously with Pam spray and sprinkled them (before baking) with a cinnamon and sugar mixture. Wow!

And something else, because I am feeling particularly chatty today. I often look things up in a thesaurus, so when I write things on this blog that talk about the same thing, I can use new words so you think you are actually reading something different. I was trying to think of a catchy title so I looked up 'housewife' in the online thesaurus. What came up made me laugh!

Thursday, May 07, 2009

Today is the day I reveal my brand new kitchen. Thanks for being excited about it with me!

You don't know how amazed I was to see the kitchen completed when I walked in the door from my weekend away.

(Although I was instructed to tell you that a certain someone didn't want me to post until he was able to go pick up the new face plates. I was too excited to wait, so he was vetoed)

Sweet Mister, you did an awesome job. I know you worked hard while I was gone (you even cleaned the bathrooms!). I appreciate you, way more than words can say... although you aren't one for too many words anyway. I'll just say thank you...and I love you lots.

The Before:

what I came home to on Sunday night...

Not only did he finish this project, but he went back to Anthropology and bought the decorative pulls I wanted for the faux drawers, and the towel hanger I wanted. Can we spell S-P-O-I-L-E-D?

Tuesday, May 05, 2009

There really isn't anything better than coming home after an awesome weekend away.

Of course I hadn't slept all weekend for all the talking, and then came home and had to do standardized testing with the kids.

So, I'm sort of still recovering.

My trip to Texas was a complete success. From m&m's to microbursts (what's a trip to Tornado Alley without some crazy weather?), and all people and places in between, I had a great time.

I'll do a top 10 to keep things brief.

10. Not freaking out (too much) when I realized that they had shut down all the major school districts for the swine flu.

9. Getting to see a large handful of friends.

8. Watching a Texas storm charge by while eating a yummy sandwich and laughing with the girls. (This was the same storm that twenty minutes later took down the Cowboys dome.)

7. Accidently shattering a bottle of nail polish on the floor while getting a pedicure (Ok, this wasn't all that "fun" but I DID get a pedicure!)

6. Visiting the church where my dear friend and her husband do ministry. The worship was awesome, and the sermon on Ecclesiastes 9 was excellent...and just what I needed to hear.

5. Being approached by a sweet gal in the lobby of that church who knew me as CoffeeGal. Actually, she came to a retreat MANY years ago where I led worship, and she sent me the sweetest note afterwards. I don't think we had ever met face to face, but when she gave me her name I absolutely remembered that note. Anyway, she and I ran into each other and she recognized me, and she's a reader. (Hi! A.U.!) That was very fun!

4. Central Market. Really, y'all, that place makes me happy. Found a new coffee flavor: Mexican Chocolate. Oh, its good.

3. Drinking more Starbucks than I will ever admit...

2. Talking for hours in an amazing hotel room.

1. Coming home to finished cabinets.

(I am not even kidding.

The Mister worked his (oh-so-handsome) tail off this weekend. I think he got more done in the four days I was gone than we accomplished all week. The cabinets look great! Pictures to come!)

This, of course, is not the exhaustive list. However, I am exhausted just thinking about all I was able to cram into four days in Texas.

Now I need to rest up. Why? Because three weeks from tomorrow I head out for a new destination, and a state I have never been to before. More details to come...

In the meantime, which state have you never been too, but would like to see?